Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – With particular coupling link
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-12
2004-09-07
Trieu, Van T. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
With particular coupling link
C340S539320, C340S568100, C340S686600, C340S573400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06788199
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for locating lost articles, and more particularly, to a portable locator device that communicates with a transceiver through radio frequency signals to determine the relative distance and/or direction of the transceiver from the locator unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many devices have been proposed for the location of various types of objects. Most of these devices are limited to tracking a certain type of object, such as a child or a set of keys, or are confined to only occasional uses. Many of these devices are also limited in their range of applications due to such limiting factors as operating range, battery life, or the inability to selectively locate large numbers of different articles.
For example, the inventions described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,163 issued Feb. 22, 1994 to Perez, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,291 issued Nov. 15, 1988 to Hawthorne, U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,817 issued May 4, 1999 to Olmassakian, U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,569 issued Jul. 29, 1997 to Gerstenberger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,931 issued Oct. 3, 2000 to Mohr, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,291 issued Nov. 15, 1988 to Hawthorne, generally relate to a form of an electronic leash for child monitoring.
These devices require the caregiver to activate the caregiver's monitoring device and child's transceiver device, and attach the transceiver to the child so that the child may be located if the parent and child become separated. While such devices may be useful in some circumstances, such as a shopping trip or a visit to the park, it is well known that children may wander away from their caregivers at any time without warning. If the child's transceiver device has not been activated before the child wanders away, the transceiver cannot be located by the caregiver's device.
Additionally, these systems rely on relatively constant communications between the child's transceiver device and the monitoring device. The need for constant communications between the transceiver and monitoring device disadvantageously requires the consumption of a large amount of power from the transceiver's battery. As a result, the transceiver may not have usable battery power at critical times in which the parent desires to locate the child.
Another class of locator devices is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,981 issued Aug. 17, 1999 to Renney, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,915 issued Mar. 15, 1994 to Owen or U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,652 issued Dec. 26, 2000 to Benvenuti. In general, these locator devices include a radio transmitter that is used to activate a radio receiver attached to an article, such as a television remote control or set of keys. When the receiver is activated, it emits an audible signal that alerts the user to location of the article to which the receiver is attached. Unfortunately, these systems are only useful over a relatively small area due to the limited range of the audible signal.
Accordingly, there is still an unfulfilled need for an article locator system that is power efficient, able to selectively locate multiple articles, and able to accurately locate articles beyond the immediate area of the locator device.
SUMMARY
The present invention solves these and other problems by providing an article locator system that includes a locator unit and one or more transceiver units. The transceiver, also referred to as a tag, is battery powered and relatively small in size so that it can be easily and non-obtrusively attached to an object that the user may need to locate at some time in the future. In one embodiment, a unique digital address code is stored in each transceiver.
The locator unit is capable of storing one or more digital address codes corresponding to the address codes stored in the receiver units. A user can search for a particular object by selecting the digital address code that corresponds to the code stored in the locator unit that is attached to the object the user desires to locate. The selected digital address code is then transmitted by wireless means from the locator unit to transceiver devices within range of the locator unit.
In one embodiment, in order to conserve power, the transceiver does not always remain activated. Instead, the transceiver periodically activates its receiver in order to determine if a signal is being sent from a locator device. When an address code is transmitted by the locator unit, all of the transceivers within range of the transmission will, at their next receiver activation cycle, detect the wireless transmission from the handheld locator. Each transceiver decodes the digital address signal and compares it to the unique address stored within the transceiver. If the address code transmitted by the locator device matches the address code stored in the transceiver, the transceiver activates its wireless transmitter and transmits a short-duration response signal. The locator device includes a wireless receiver that detects the wireless signal response from the selected transceiver. From this response signal, the distance and/or relative direction of the selected transceiver from the locator can be determined. This information is then displayed to the user.
The present invention is particularly advantageous, because in one embodiment, it provides the user with a variety of methods by which to locate an object to which a transceiver has been attached. This allows the user to best select the means that is most suited to the type of search the user is conducting. For instance, in various embodiments, the user may chose to locate a transceiver by measuring its bearing from the locator unit, its distance from the locator unit, or both its bearing and distance from the locator unit. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the user may chose to locate a transceiver by directing the transceiver to activate an indicator, such as an audible-tone or light, to alert the user as to the location of the transceiver.
The present invention is also particularly advantageous because, in various embodiments, it automatically selects the best search option for the user. For instance, in one embodiment, if the locator unit comes within a certain distance of the transceiver, the locator unit will instruct the transceiver to activate its indicator, such as a tone or light, to assist the user in locating the transceiver. In various embodiments, other functions can also be automated, thereby eliminating the need for the user to make decisions. For instance, in one embodiment, if the locator unit is experiencing interference in receiving a signal from a transceiver, the locator unit can request the user to move the locator unit to a different position. In a further embodiment, the locator system can automatically vary the signal strengths of the search and return signals, and can tune the receivers and transmitters of the locator unit and receiver to optimize performance. In these embodiments, the present invention presents the user with a wide range of search options, and can also select the options best suited to the environment in which the user is in. This eliminates the need for the user to make such decisions, thereby simplifying the search process for the user, while at the same time optimizing the search and locate performance.
In one embodiment, the article locator system includes a locator module and a transceiver. The locator module includes a first memory unit operable to store one or more first address codes, a user control operable to allow a user to select one of the stored first address codes, a first transmitter operable to wirelessly transmit a locator signal, wherein the locator signal includes one of the selected first address codes, a first receiver operable to receive a return signal transmitted by a transceiver module, and an antenna array operably connectable to the first transmitter and the first receiver. In one embodiment, first receiver is only active for a limited period after the locator signal is sent. The first control unit is operable to calculate a relative dir
Crabtree Timothy L.
DelMain Gregory J.
McArthur Paul
Rassool Reza P.
Wells Michael F.
Eureka Technology Partners, LLC
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Trieu Van T.
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